Field of the Invention
The disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for implementing communications within a medical device system using powerlines as the communication medium. More specifically, using powerlines as a communication medium within an atherectomy system.
Description of the Related Art
Powerline Communication (“PLC”) is a communication technology that uses electricity-providing powerlines as the communication medium, thereby eliminating the need to add additional communication wires. Thus, like other communication technologies, PLC requires a sender/transmitter, a receiver, a communication medium and a signal to be sent by the transmitter over the communication medium to the receiver. The communication medium in PLC is the powerline. The transmitter modulates and then injects the signal into the powerline where it travels to the receiver at the opposing end of the communication link which demodulates the signals and retrieves the data contained therein. The powerline itself may be AC or DC. The communication between a transmitter and a receiver may be bi-directional and may comprise any data that the transmitter and receiver devices may need to exchange. In the bi-directional case, the devices will transmit and receive, thus they may be characterized as transceivers.
PLC systems implement modulation schemes to couple the data to be transmitted onto the AC or DC power conductor or powerline. A variety of modulation schemes exist and are known to the skilled artisan, an exemplary and partial listing follows: OOK (On-Off Keying); ASK (Amplitude Shift Keying); OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing); FSK (Frequency Shift Keying); BPSK (Binary Phase Shift Keying); and S-FSK (Spread Frequency Shift Keying).
One focus of the presently described PLC system and method comprises communication between devices that are within one or more medical device systems generally.
More specifically, PLC communications may be implemented within a system for opening occluded blood vessels or biological conduits. Still more specifically, atherectomy procedures are implemented by systems comprising several devices that may require or provide useful information.
For example, rotational atherectomy procedures have become a common technique for removing occlusive or stenotic material. Such procedures are used most frequently to initiate the opening of calcified lesions in coronary arteries. Most often the rotational atherectomy procedure is not used alone, but is followed by a balloon angioplasty procedure, which, in turn, is very frequently followed by placement of a stent to assist in maintaining patency of the opened artery. All of the above medical device systems, including but not limited to atherectomy systems and devices, currently comprise either hard-wired or wireless communication solutions between a controller unit or module, for example, and the various elements of the system, some of which may be located a distance away from the controller module. Moreover, the controller module may be located within the sterile field while the device to be communicated with may be outside the sterile field. Wireless communications systems require pairing schemes, they are at risk for cross-talk or binding to another unwanted or unrelated device that may be located in another room and requires certification testing necessary for radio transmitters.
Moreover, we provide disclosure of the following patents and applications, each of which are assigned to Cardiovascular Systems, Inc., and incorporated herein in their entirety, each of which may comprise high-speed rotational atherectomy systems, methods and/or devices that may be used with various embodiments of the presently disclosed subject matter, including but not limited to a handle or controller device in operative communication with a high-speed rotational drive shaft and saline pump:
U.S. Pat. No. 9,468,457, “ATHERECTOMY DEVICE WITH ECCENTRIC CROWN”;
U.S. Pat. No. 9,439,674, “ROTATIONAL ATHERECTOMY DEVICE WITH EXCHANGEABLE DRIVE SHAFT AND MESHING GEARS”;
U.S. Pat. No. 9,220,529, “ROTATIONAL ATHERECTOMY DEVICE WITH ELECTRIC MOTOR”;
U.S. Pat. No. 9,119,661, “ROTATIONAL ATHERECTOMY DEVICE WITH ELECTRIC MOTOR”;
U.S. Pat. No. 9,119,660, “ROTATIONAL ATHERECTOMY DEVICE WITH ELECTRIC MOTOR”;
U.S. Pat. No. 9,078,692, “ROTATIONAL ATHERECTOMY SYSTEM”;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,295,712, “ROTATIONAL ATHERECTOMY DEVICE”;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,494,890, “ECCENTRIC ROTATIONAL ATHERECTOMY DEVICE”;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,132,444, “ECCENTRIC DRIVE SHAFT FOR ATHERECTOMY DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURE”;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,638,288, “ECCENTRIC DRIVE SHAFT FOR ATHERECTOMY DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURE”;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,314,438, “ABRASIVE DRIVE SHAFT DEVICE FOR ROTATIONAL ATHERECTOMY”;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,217,595, “ROTATIONAL ATHERECTOMY DEVICE”;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,554,163, “ATHERECTOMY DEVICE”;
U.S. Pat. No. 7,507,245, “ROTATIONAL ANGIOPLASTY DEVICE WITH ABRASIVE CROWN”;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,129,734, “ROTATIONAL ATHERECTOMY DEVICE WITH RADIALLY EXPANDABLE PRIME MOVER COUPLING”;
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/761,128, “ECCENTRIC ABRADING HEAD FOR HIGH-SPEED ROTATIONAL ATHERECTOMY DEVICES”;
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/767,725, “SYSTEM, APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR OPENING AN OCCLUDED LESION”;
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/130,083, “ECCENTRIC ABRADING ELEMENT FOR HIGH-SPEED ROTATIONAL ATHERECTOMY DEVICES”;
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/363,914, “MULTI-MATERIAL ABRADING HEAD FOR ATHERECTOMY DEVICES HAVING LATERALLY DISPLACED CENTER OF MASS”;
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/578,222, “ROTATIONAL ATHERECTOMY DEVICE WITH PRE-CURVED DRIVE SHAFT”;
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/130,024, “ECCENTRIC ABRADING AND CUTTING HEAD FOR HIGH-SPEED ROTATIONAL ATHERECTOMY DEVICES”;
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/580,590, “ECCENTRIC ABRADING AND CUTTING HEAD FOR HIGH-SPEED ROTATIONAL ATHERECTOMY DEVICES”;
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 29/298,320, “ROTATIONAL ATHERECTOMY ABRASIVE CROWN”;
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 29/297,122, “ROTATIONAL ATHERECTOMY ABRASIVE CROWN”;
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/466,130, “BIDIRECTIONAL EXPANDABLE HEAD FOR ROTATIONAL ATHERECTOMY DEVICE”; and
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/388,703, “ROTATIONAL ATHERECTOMY SEGMENTED ABRADING HEAD AND METHOD TO IMPROVE ABRADING EFFICIENCY”.